Bought one last year for 79.99. Shoots great Tula arsenal.
Friend of mine picked up four of them wit matching numbers.
Came with bayonet, cleaning kit and mag pouch.
Not sure of the name, but it was a mail order company.

Also consider that if you purchase online, you will be paying an additional $15 for shipping and $25-$30 for the FFL transfer. You should check out the gun shows. I was able to buy a Tula M44 Mosin Nagant for $100 in very good shape at the Fort Worth Gun Show. Good luck.

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...Unless.........you have a C&R license like I do. Then no transfer fees, and I can still get a 91/30 for less than $100 total with shipping, and sent straight to my front door.

Bought one last year for 79.99. Shoots great Tula arsenal.
Friend of mine picked up four of them wit matching numbers.
Came with bayonet, cleaning kit and mag pouch.
Not sure of the name, but it was a mail order company.

I agree on all these statements. Buying a rifle like this online is most likely a bad idea. I've bought plenty of things online, so I know how these things can run. Buying the same rifle at a local gun store is your best bet. That way you can know exactly what your buying after making your own examinations of it, and it most likely would be cheaper too. Shipping costs is what always got me when I ordered online.

Though, I'm not with questions of my own. I came across a small family owned gun shop that have 4 Mosin Nagant M91/30's for sale, they charged $120 for each one. I due have to admit, getting a rifle like this one is something on my bucket-list, but then it dawned on me that I'm 25, and I'm already trying to make a bucket-list while I'm in good health. Anyway, long story short, I decided to wait a while before thinking of buying it again. However, I do need to ask, if buying one of these rifles would be considered a "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity. Because I just have this feeling that this may be my only chance of getting one, so most likely, would I be right, or wrong in waiting till later in the future to buy one?
There are some other thing's I'd like to ask as well. The reason I'd like to get this rifle is not only to have it, but I planned on hunting with it. I spoke to the shop employees at the store, as well as some friends who know more about guns than me. They all said that based on my area, "soft ammo" is the only ammo legal when it comes to hunting, not hard like full-metal-jackets or sniper rounds. However They also said that becasue of my states hunting regulations about Muzzle Velocity, a Mosin Nagant may be illegal to hunt with becasue of high velocity, even with soft ammo. So whats the velocity of a Mosin Nagant M91/30 with both hard and soft ammo? And if there are any hunters here who live in North Texas, what's the velocity limit for hunting? If I can't use this rifle, buying it may be a waste, even though I'm collecting the rifle as well.

A Mosin 91/30 shouldn't be on your bucket list, it is a kick to shoot and has a ton of history while being a very dependable rifle. There were 17 million of them made, so chances are you will always have an opportunity to buy one. The 91/30's are not rare.

They are cheap to buy for what you get. The bulk military ammo is also cheap. I bought 880 rds. just recently for $163.oo delivered to my door. That's .185 cents a round. FMJ 148 grain, yeah steel, won't pass the magnet test, but will plow through that broken down car your shooting at !!! They have a velocity of max 2850 fps. Where as I also purchased some winchester soft point 180 gr., passing the magnet test for $23.50 plus tax for 20 rds., $1.25 a bang ! Velocity on the winchester is 2625 fps. Seriously doubt either ammo is too fast for Texas, but don't know.

You shouldn't have any problem taking a deer with one. Scopes don't go on the weapon easily, imo use it stock, iron sights and take a marksman course like Appleseed to hone your skills to 400 yards. But most deer are taken within 100 yards.

I would buy a pre 1930 91/30, that would insure it's an ex-dragoon and may hold a little more desirability in future markets. While Tula is preferred, I own both tula receiver and izhevsk, my izhevsk's bolt and accuracy is better. Go figure.

The more collectable rifles will not be 91/30's and carry a higher price tag. 91/30's are refurbished weapons. I didn't check the head clearance but I did check the firing pins, which were both a little too long for my taste. I floated both barrels, wrapped some tape around the cleaning rod so it doesn't vibrate against the barrel and they shoot just fine. Clean and oil them well after you purchase and you should be good to go.

Then again you can go out and spend a whole lot of money on a new deer rifle.

Or you could just win one here like I did from the great folks that run this site. I just today bought another 100 rounds surplus ammo to run though it this weekend. I just joined a new gun club and will go to that range. Nice ammo, looks clean from local dealer. Packed 10 in a box already in stripper clips for $4.95 each. I will soon just bite the bullet as it were and get myself a tin of ammo.

I love this gun. It is a hoot to shoot. I bought a recoil pad for it but after shooting a while I took it back off to keep stock. Not bad recoil IMHO.

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I apologize if I repeat something that has been posted, I admit I got in late and din't read every post....mea culpa, mea culpa, etc.

At the Indy 1500 show this past weekend there were dealers still selling basic Izzy late model refurbed M91/30s with bayonet, ammo pouch, sling, and accessories for $99.00...

BUT I also heard this MAY be the last bunch for a while so prices WILL be going up.

A far cry from the 3/$99 days, right guys?

Basically, yes, you are looking for the difference between Tulas and Izshevsk, but there is more to it that that. Tula made a LOT of M91s but during the 91/30 process made a lot fewer...and rumor had it the Tulas were more accurate so more used for Snayperskayas, but that is unfounded...the Russians made 800,000 91/30 sniper rifles during WWII and yes used the ones tested as most accurate, but there were proportionately as many Izzys as Tulas so good ones are good ones....plus a LOT of early dated Tulas were actually M91s CONVERTED to 91/30 config at the Ishevsk plant, so the name means not much. Plus the Tula machinery was shipped out to Ishevsk so it didn't fall into the German hands in 1942 during the Nazi advance on Stalingrad and all rifles made after 1942 with the Tula Star were actually made on Tula machinery at Ishezk with Ishevsk workers, so go figure.

But finding aone with a Tula star is worth more to buyers, since they are more rare than the Izzy wreath with hammer and sickle...but they are no BETTER than the Izzys...at least as shooters.

Pre-1936, the receivers were hexagonal, like all M91s were before that. Many are "converted" M91s as well (We will get into "Transitions" later)

Post 1936, the receivers were all "round," which some people will say were not as strong as the hex ones (they lie) but the Hex ones bring more money.

The bad news is the jobbers and distributers have figured this out so their wholesale price has gone up on hexes and old ones...not long ago the hexes were the same price...

Not long ago as well you could find "transitions," as well, at the same price. Even though the M91/30 was "technically" adopeted in 1930, so therefore all receivers should be marked 1930 or above, you CAN find some with dates that are earlier. ( I have owned several, dated from 1918 to 1929)

While there WERE some "Cossack" 91s converted to 91/30, which are worth a ton of money, not ALL pre-1930 91/30s are "Cossacks" although the seller will want you to BELIEVE it....

They are "Transitions...." While both major arsenals started building 91/30s NEW in 1930, they also converted many M91s they had on hand to 91/30s. I like "Transitions," and they are worth a little (or a lot?) more. Basically they are any 91/30 with a date (on top of the receiver not on the bottom tang) earlier than 1930.

But even though chances are any of the refurbished 91/30s left are all Ishevsk, there is still enough variation I havre seen between them to attract a look....

First, is it a "correct" "Wartime" or not? Pre-mid-1942, you will find they wikl have nicely machined, low walled, round recievers in a nicely matching inletted stock, with metal escutcheons around the sling slots.

After about mid-1942, until the end of the war, you will find more and more "Shortcuts" in the manufacturing as the war progressed....the 'High Wall" receiver to avoid the extra milling (Rumor is they are stronger) rough machining marks no longer buffed out before blueing...."correct" stock (will have either just a hole in the rear wood and a metal reinforced bottom slot in the front, or later, (late 1943-1944) just a slot in the wood in front too)

Plus you can find variations in the metal in the stock, such as the handguards, which may have blued sheetmetal, brass, or copper metal.

Plus the Stocks of the wartimes have a lot different shape and inletting than the pre-wars....

I have a 1942 pre-war Izzy and a 1943 Wartime Izzy both with brass handguard ends and it is neat to see the differences between them.....

But unlike the Jap or German "Last Ditch" rifles where production quality slipped along with the finish, the Russian "Wartime" rifles skimped on finish and workmanship, but NOT on function....my wartime is my BEST shooter...

Pretty much all the 91/30s coming in over the past 5 years or so havce been arsenal refurbished ones in storage for the past 40-50 years....and now most of the "Collector" ones are long gone or being sold for a lot more than they used to be.....

Like I doubt I will find another converted "ex-Snayperskaya" I bought for $33 that I sold for $55....BEFORE I knew what that stock repair on the side was and what those filled in holes in the receiver that the stock repair didn't completely cover were for....

But all are still good shooters which WILL appreciate with age.

I have bought and sold maybe 50 or 60 of them over the years, and now am down to only 4....funny though, none from the current "refurbed" batches, and two of them from my 3/$99 "dropped in the rubble only once" condition that were Transitions....

But I looked at EVERY one of them at the show this weekend...and if I find one that trips my trigger I would happily spend $100-$150 for ANOTHER one...

So what do you guys think of the Mosins coming from Big5? are they any good or should I get mine from AIM or some other place?

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Mine shoot great from Big 5, plus they don't screen them. You can get lucky if you search. I got an antique 1897 Tula receiver and a 1904 Izhevsk, barrels 1926/1925 respectively. Where else can you get an Antique rifle these days for $89 bucks?

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big steve,
You might consider going to a gun show the next time there is one near you. I bought my 1938 Izzy at a local show for $110.00 and was able to look at all they had and picked the one I thought was the best.